Eigenharp Officially Released - First Look Video

Highlights of the First public launch day 06/10/09

No flash plug

14:57 mins

The Eigenharp has created a bit of a buzz... in fact it has created the ability to generate and play expressively a whole host of buzzes, clicks, beats, soaring lead notes and tones of every persuasion, [cliche]limited only by your imagination[/cliche]... and the latest sound-generating software.

Well that's a bit of an opener, innit! But see, I've just got back from the official launch, and it feels a bit like my brain was taken out, scrambled slightly, and put back just not quite in the same place it was before. Seems like a bit of a biggie, this EigenBeast - history will judge it way better than I'm able to right now, but I certainly came away from The BBC Studios in London's Maida Vale where the launch took place, aware that we may regard this, in musical instrument terms anyway, as the end of the 'pre-Eigen-era'. [Of course, history may regard this as a quaint, beautifully-designed and extremely fully-featured lemon... but I suspect, and sincerely hope, not].

One of my personal bugbears is that many incredible creative talents simply never see the light of day because the means, and maybe even the media by which those talents can be expressed do not yet exist. To express something so beautifully it can touch another's soul can be a tricky thing - the most direct way is to sing, which is one reason why great singers are so highly regarded; we can relate to it directly. To have the same effect playing an instrument usually takes years of practice, and even then, the methodology of using a keyboard or strings can be limiting. So for me, any new way of enabling creative expression is worthy of attention... and the Eigenharp really does seem to allow whole new means and layers of expression - using the latest machine sound generating software in a instrument designed expressly for human performance. (just no-one mention the bar band scene from Star Wars, OK ;-)

Anyway, enough of my ramblings... I took my camera to the launch and tried to capture it for you. It was dark, and I ended filming a blurry 'tennis-cam' as I tried to keep up with the presenters, so forgive the crummy camerawork, but I hope it'll give you a flavour.

I also grabbed an interview with company founder John Henry Lambert so look out for more later.

Looks like one hell of a controller. Too damn expensive for me though... and I'm a PC, not a Mac.

06-Oct-09 06:17 PM

Andy Mac Said...

I spoke to the EigenGuys again yesterday, and they confirmed they would be porting to PC in the near future, so PC users will be able to run the software

07-Oct-09 05:09 AM

Hans Said...

why does the video have to stop just at the moment when it should get interesting?

07-Oct-09 05:17 PM

Andy Mac Said...

@Hans... 'cos they were playing copyrighted music, and I was under strict instructions not to film it ;-]

Also, there's already been a couple of videos released as teasers on YouTube of the Eigenharp being played, so I tried to keep this video short be not including the musical bits.

07-Oct-09 06:32 PM

Marc JX8P Said...

Very, very cool. A beautiful instrument to see and it should be intriguing to see how players will use it. The expressiveness it offers is unparallelled as far as I can see, although the Continuum comes near but I think that one is harder to play. Still, it is a bit of a niche instrument I think - which is not bad, not everything has to sell by the million. The small variantion could have some mass appeal though.

08-Oct-09 03:55 AM

Karplus Said...

It is really all I thought it might be.

The only question is whether they will ship on to me across the pond in the colonies, or whether I must trod on over to foggy old England.

08-Oct-09 05:07 AM

Doobey Said...

When he said the lower keys are stronger so you can hit them a little harder, it implied that the others are weak. So I now think the thing is too delicate and wouldn't survive a single tour, or even cope with being wet.

08-Oct-09 11:13 AM

Consciensious Said...

Doobey, quit smokin'em.

You could push yourself to this conclusion, but I remember noticing my Yamaha DX7 keys getting loose in the octave that contained the main Alesis DM Pro drums. The DX7 is a true tour machine.

Drum pads should be stronger than keybeds. It should take a little more force to trigger them.

08-Oct-09 12:13 PM

Le An Lee Said...

I have never desired an instrument as much as the Eigenharp, but I don't have enough money. :(

Maybe Behringer will copy and release for $299 (Behrinharp??)

09-Oct-09 10:24 AM

Mac Said...

This thing looks awesome, btw they do ship it worldwide :)

09-Oct-09 11:59 AM

Alejandro Escuer Said...

Hello My name is Alejandor Escuer, flutist, imroviser and composer from Mexico. I am interested to explore the Eigenharp instrument and integrate it into our multidisciplinary concert show called LUMINICO. Please visit www.luminico.org Is there a way to have the instrument to try? How much does it cost? Could we have it for educational purposes? I am a full time tenure faculty at the University of Mexico. Could we discuss the possibility of a sponsorship or middle ground alternative? We have a tour to China for next year among other things and it would be wonderful to write a piece or two for the instrument and integrate this in the show. I will appreciate your comments and answers. Best, Alejandro Escuer

09-Oct-09 07:08 PM

Alejandro Escuer Said...

Hello My name is Alejandor Escuer, flutist, imroviser and composer from Mexico. I am interested to explore the Eigenharp instrument and integrate it into our multidisciplinary concert show called LUMINICO. Please visit www.luminico.org Is there a way to have the instrument to try? How much does it cost? Could we have it for educational purposes? I am a full time tenure faculty at the University of Mexico. Could we discuss the possibility of a sponsorship or middle ground alternative? We have a tour to China for next year among other things and it would be wonderful to write a piece or two for the instrument and integrate this in the show. I will appreciate your comments and answers. Congratulations on your great musical devise by the way. Best, Alejandro Escuer

This seems like an instrument for the non musician. Everyone wants to be a musician but no one wants to put in the hard work. With today's technology you can sound authentic quick and without having to know what you are doing...but will you really feel a sense of accomplishment or pride by blindly triggering pre programmed scales? Not if you have any artistic integrity. Not if you desire to be a musician, in every aspect of the word. The controller software knows the theory and all you gotta do is push buttons and smile. If you are going to play a melodic instrument, you seriously need to learn the theory behind the scales and learn to play with all notes available to your fingers not just the notes of a particuliar scale... what about when you want to throw in a non-scale tone at random- You would have to pre-program in the random accidental.. there is no true spontaneus improvisation if all you're doing is triggering scale steps and flipping through modes with your other hand. Sadly this is a perfect example of what today's society craves- Quick results without putting in the hard work....just another step down into non-musicianship. To be fair, I do realize that you can use the thing in a more traditional way and most likely theres a way to set it up so you can play all 12 scale steps.. and manually play the steps you desire....but the majority of today's generation will most likely not want to bother with learning theory to be able to play 'manually'. People today want the quick fix. Its not looking too promising for the future of artistic integrity.

31-Oct-09 06:51 AM

Nikita Said...

9ice nkan toba wun elenu lolefenueso. Every1 has his stantirg point n i dont expect u to be where u r now in d coming yr. Big ups for d sky is ur stantirg point. Cheers

27-Feb-13 04:33 PM

Nikita Said...

9ice nkan toba wun elenu lolefenueso. Every1 has his stantirg point n i dont expect u to be where u r now in d coming yr. Big ups for d sky is ur stantirg point. Cheers